mulatto

[ muh-lat-oh, -lah-toh, myoo- ]

noun,plural mu·lat·toes, mu·lat·tos.
  1. Anthropology. (not in technical use) the offspring of one white parent and one Black parent.

  2. Older Use: Offensive. a person who has both Black and white ancestors.

adjective
  1. of a light-brown color.

Compare Meanings

Click for a side-by-side comparison of meanings. Use the word comparison feature to learn the differences between similar and commonly confused words.

Origin of mulatto

1
First recorded in 1585–95; from Spanish mulato “young mule,” equivalent to mul(o) mule1 + -ato of unclear origin

Words Nearby mulatto

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use mulatto in a sentence

  • A light-colored mulatto boy, in dress coat and bearing a diminutive silver tray for the reception of cards, admitted them.

  • To every four or five blacks may be reckoned a mulatto, and it is only here and there that a white man is to be seen.

  • The steward, a young mulatto, had contracted the bad habit of indulging too much in liquor.

  • In due time Mr. Chittenden returned, accompanied by a comely mulatto woman about forty years of age.

  • Ole man Hamilton come from de norf somewhar, an' bought Ted's mother, a likely mulatto.

    The Cromptons | Mary J. Holmes

British Dictionary definitions for mulatto

mulatto

/ (mjuːˈlætəʊ) /


nounplural -tos or -toes
  1. a person having one Black and one White parent

adjective
  1. of a light brown colour

Origin of mulatto

1
C16: from Spanish mulato young mule, variant of mulo mule 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012